Volcano-meteorological tsunamis, thec. AD 200 Taupo eruption (New Zealand) and the possibility of a global tsunami

Abstract

Meteorological tsunamis are long-period waves that result from meteorologically driven disturbances. They are also generated by phase coupling with atmospheric gravity waves arising through powerful volcanic activity. The AD 1883 Krakatau eruption generated volcano-meteorological tsunamis that were recorded globally. Because of its extreme violence and energy release (≥150±50 megatons explosive yield), and by analogy with the Krakatau event, it is highly possible that the ignimbrite-emplacement phase of the c. ad 200 Taupo eruption of North Island, New Zealand, generated a similar volcano-meteorological tsunami that may have reached coastal areas worldwide. Tsunami deposits of identical age to the Taupo eruption occur in central coastal New Zealand and probably relate to that event; definitive evidence elsewhere has not yet been found. In theory, volcano-meteorological tsunamis are likely to be produced during comparable eruptive events at other explosive volcanoes, and thus represent an additional volcanic hazard at coastal sites far from source. We suggest that evidence for such tsunamis, both for marine and lacustrine environments, may be preserved in geological records, and that further work searching for this evidence using a facies approach is timely.